


Charred

by Acey



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: And Mai being a lovely Fire Lady, F/M, Gen, I live out my dreams of Mai and Zuko being canon, Mai and Azula revisit their friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 10:44:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6281482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acey/pseuds/Acey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mai, the Fire Lady and mother of the next Fire Lord realizes that regardless of if her daughter is a bender or not, she'll need a teacher and the Fire Lord won't be happy about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Charred

**Author's Note:**

> This definitely exists outside the canon of the graphic novels. The only detail I used was Mai going to get Tom-Tom.

Mai carefully put half of Izumi’s hair in a clean knot on the top of her head, letting strands gently fall down her back. 

“I want to wear it the way Aunt Azula wears it.” Izumi complained, looking at her reflection dissatisfied. Mai almost smiled. Almost.

“Izumi, this is a special occasion. Your aunt wears her hair the way she does for war. This is a celebration.”

“I thought the war was over.” Izumi said, not curiously like some children might say it but as if it were a well-known fact, as if everything that came out of her mouth was a truth or a command. 

“It is except for Azula. The war is never over for Azula.” Mai said. 

“Mom?” Izumi asked, turning away from her mirror to look at her mother. Mai swept the bangs out of her daughter’s clever eyes. Izumi reminded Mai so much of Azula that sometimes it made her heart hurt. She didn’t have the same manipulative slant to her mouth but she had those plotting eyes. Izumi would make a great leader if they could keep her out of trouble.  
“What war is she fighting?” Izumi asked. 

Mai felt her lips twist into a frown. “A war she’s been fighting for a long time. One she’s been waging against herself.” 

Izumi, who seemed to lose her mother’s meaning, also frowned but more out of frustration. 

“Here. We’ll put it up the way aunt Azula does.” Mai said, motioning her daughter towards her. Izumi smiled slightly and sat herself calmly into the seat in front of her mother, her shoulders straight and her head held high. Mai let her daughter’s dark hair free and started combing it out carefully. 

Mai had insisted on getting her own daughter ready. She’d been set aside her entire life to servants and guards, never her parent’s responsibility. Mai and Zuko had decided they would be parents to their daughter, not absent figures.

Besides, it still remained a fact that Zuko wasn’t very popular with the Fire Nation, her father having been a leading force in removing him from power. Team Avatar may have restored balance but there were still things to fix, messes that needed to be cleaned up. Danger was still a part of their lives. There wasn’t many they could trust. 

“They always talk around me.” Izumi complained, pushing the loose strands of hair away from her face in annoyance before Mai brushed the strands back, combing them upwards. She hoped her daughter didn’t see her stiffen slightly. 

“Who talks around you?” Mai asked, glancing down at her daughter who was concentrating very hard on the floor. 

“Everyone. The other kids, the adults. I know they’re talking about me and about us, about the Fire Nation but… it’s like I’m not there.” The girl fiddled with the hem of her sleeve. “A lot of what they say is false and I want to correct them.” 

“Izumi.” Mai let her hands fall from her daughter’s hair as she knelt in front of her to meet her golden gaze. “If you have something to say, say it.” 

“But you and dad always said…” Mai was shaking her head, stopping her daughter from continuing.

“We are your parents. We need you to listen to us but you are also the daughter of the Fire Lord, a position that will someday be yours. You’re going to be expected to make difficult decisions and be well versed in what’s going on. We have done our best to not shield you from those facts. You’ll need to speak up not only for yourself but for your country. When you have an opinion, give it.”

“What if I don’t have an opinion?” Izumi asked, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. 

“Then don’t.” Mai replied, going back to combing Izumi’s hair up into a tight knot on top of her head, making sure not a strand was out of place. Looking at her daughter’s reflection, mouth already hard and eyes already alert Mai knew Izumi was going to have a difficult road ahead of her and she was ready to do whatever she needed to in order to make that road a little easier. 

“You look beautiful.” Mai said as her daughter hopped down from the stool to admire her reflection, checking to see if any strands were loose. 

“Is everyone ready!?” Ty Lee asked, peaking her head into the room and smiling wide. Mai saw that smile falter slightly at the sight of the princess.

Izumi sighed, giving her reflection one last look before turning on her heels and going to stand next to the Kyoshi warrior and looking expectantly at her mother. 

“Why don’t you go with Ty Lee, Izumi?” Mai said. Ty Lee raised an eyebrow at her old friend and Mai nudged her head, telling Ty Lee to go on. “I’ll be there soon.” Ty Lee nodded, giving her friend a 'you'll explain later look'. Mai gave a knowing smirk at her friend. Izumi, always perceptive, knew her mother was up to something but seemed unsure as to what seemed to decide it was silly adult business. She took Ty Lee’s offered hand and they went out into the hallway. Mai heard the sound of their footsteps disappear. 

She took the moment to glance at her own reflection, adjusting the crown on her head and then checking the stilettos securely fastened to the gauntlets under her robes. How very un-Fire-Lady like that was of her. It was never something she would agree to give up, no matter how many people had assure her there was nothing for her to fear. One thing Mai had learned in her youth, trust no one. Still, this was a small moment when things were quiet. She closed her eyes for a moment and sat on the stool where her daughter had been. 

Izumi had only met Azula a few times but Mai now thought about the impression they had made. Azula had changed at the sight of Izumi and Mai had watched from a distance. Izumi, who knew nothing of her aunt or her history had immediately loved Azula, not seeming to even notice, let alone care that Azula's hands were handcuffed and guards flanked every corner of the courtyard. Azula had walked with the little girl, watching her feed the turtleducks and Mai saw signs of a person in the shell Azula had become. The encounters had been short but Mai thought it was important. There would be no secrets from her daughter. If she was going to rule then she needed to know everything.

Zuko had expressed concern then but maybe now... 

“Mai?” A new voice asked. Her husband was standing where Ty Lee had been, looking at her with a worried expression.

“Zuko. Shouldn’t you be out entertaining our guests?” Mai asked, rising from her seat. 

Zuko came inside to stand behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. ”You’re worried about something.” he murmured. 

Mai sighed, turning around in the circle of her husband’s arms to face him, her fingers traced the edge of his burn gently. Everything had been so chaotic. The two of them had had so little time together the past while. He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her mouth. She closed her eyes, letting him run his fingers through the loose strands of her hair. “What is it?” Zuko murmured. 

Mai pulled her face away enough to meet his eyes before his head dipped down and his mouth tickled her neck. 

“It’s Izumi.” She whispered. Zuko froze at the sound of his daughter’s name, distress replacing his expression. 

“Is she okay?” He was frantic now.

“She’s fine. She’s just… I’m thinking of asking Azula to teach her.” 

Zuko stiffened slightly. “To teach her what exactly?”

Mai closed her eyes, preparing for the recoil. “To fight.”

“Mai. You could easily-“ Zuko started before Mai cut him off with a sharp glance, a thin finger pressing against his lips, silencing him. 

“It’s not the same. If she is able to bend, and I know we don’t know for sure yet, but if she is then it will be different. Ty Lee and I both worked with what we had without bending but if there’s even a chance that Izumi could be a bender,” Mai stopped here to meet Zuko’s confused glance, “then I want her to have the best shot she possibly can. Izumi is already quite taken with Azula and Azula is the best.” 

Zuko stared at Mai for a long, silent moment. She watched several emotions pass over her husband’s face. Confusion, anger, and then hurt which sat a moment too long before it was quickly covered with a blankness Mai herself had mastered in her youth. She knew that look well. She also saw it register that no matter what, Azula was always going to be the prodigy. Mai had simply stated a fact that they both knew. Azula could strategize and plan like no one Mai had ever seen. That was valuable. 

Finally Zuko spoke up. “Maybe. I’ll arrange for the guards to…”

“No.” Mai said. “I’ve put this off for too long. I’ll do it myself.” 

Zuko glanced at her warily. “Mai…” 

The Fire Lady shook her head at him, a closed off expression suddenly covering her features. Zuko knew there was no more compromising tonight. 

“Alright. But tomorrow. Tonight you have obligations as the Fire Lady.” 

Mai let out a long sigh looking away with indifference. “I always have obligations as the Fire Lady” she murmured as a smile played at Zuko’s mouth. 

“And you do it well.” He said, taking her hand. She gave him a small, soft half smile, looking at him sideways. Zuko pretended not to see, running his thumb gently over her knuckles as they walked to the celebration. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zuko was busy discussing border politics with a mayor when Mai found she was able to slip away. 

She checked in and saw Ty Lee keeping a close watch on Izumi the way they had agreed when Mai had found out she was pregnant. She glanced at the wall and saw Tomtom flirting with a girl from the Earth Kingdom but noticed how his eyes also kept slipping to his niece every so often. If anything were to happen, Izumi would be protected. 

Mai slipped into a side corridor and down a long hallway that twisted its way downward. It got colder. Mai had always thought of how ridiculous it was to keep people in such miserable conditions. Misery made people desperate and her father’s rule of Omashu had made that plainly clear. 

She had made sure Azula was kept as comfortable as possible but had avoided coming to see her because of fear. After a long time Mai had realized it wasn’t fear of Azula herself but of her betrayal of her closest friend. The one she had agreed to travel with and protect, the one who had seen more value in two non-benders than all her free picking of any and every bender in the Fire Nation. 

With careful hands she slid the key into the hold and heard the lock click as the door gave, sliding open with an annoyingly loud creak. Mai regarded the open door for a long moment, feeling anxiety speed her heart. 

Breaths. Just take a few breaths, never let your fear show she chided herself several times, the same speech she had rehearsed to herself as a child. This was for her daughter and she would go to the ends of the earth to ensure Izumi had the best life and the best chance possible. Bender or not she was going to have her learn from the best. That was assuming the best was feeling compassionate towards her niece and was willing to teach her. 

Mai breathed calm into every edge of her body and realized with slight embarrassment she had stopped her hand from shaking. Control. She was in control.  
Slowly Mai walked down the long corridor as flames flickered and the two guards inclined their heads in respect. She returned the gesture emptily, keeping her head high. 

“A visitor? For me?” a scratchy voice greeted the Fire Lady, causing Mai to freeze momentarily. 

Mai, who after so many years of replaying her betrayal over and over again and always felt different about it, in the present moment felt numb. Mai had never regretted her decision, no matter what the damage had been, because it had been the right thing to do and she would not be her father, she would not sacrifice morals for comfort and power. It had never changed how difficult it had been for her or how much guilt weighed on her, even now. 

For everything she had lost as a result of that decision it had also brought her many things as well. She had been able to raise her brother, marry Zuko, have Izumi, keep Ty Lee as a trusted and respected friend at the cost of her family and Azula. 

With careful hands Mai lifted her skirt high enough so that she could kneel on the stones in front of Azula’s cell. As she sat she watched the rich red fabrics fan out around her, she paid close attention to the flames embroidered at the bottom hem. With a quiet sigh she raised her head to regard the fire princess with sharp eyes.  
Azula was frowning at her old friend. 

“I’m disappointed.” Azula said lazily, “I thought you might be Zuzu.” 

Mai let a mischievous smile play at her lips. “I apologize.” There was a shadow of their old rhythm, the same care she had always had to take when speaking to the princess came back naturally. 

Azula gave a long sigh, coming to sit right at the bars of her cell. The fire danced across the stone walls, casting a shadow across Azula’s face. It made her look more menacing, a shadow of her old self. “I don’t owe you any of my precious time.” Azula spat. 

“You’re right. You don’t owe me anything.” Mai acknowledged calmly.

“Have you come to say you’re sorry for turning on me that day?” Azula asked. “It’s far too late but I am willing to listen if you have one prepared.”

“No.” Mai said a little too curtly. “I’m not here to apologize for my betrayal.” 

Azula’s eyes flashed for a moment before she tilted her head like a curious bird, her mouth teasing a smile. Azula was playing with her. “That’s rather gutsy of you.” 

Mai let her gaze fall to her lap as she tried to regain her composure. “I’m here to ask for something.” 

At that Azula began to laugh. “Then you should definitely be apologizing.”  
Mai closed her eyes. “It’s not for myself.” Mai then gave a teasing smile, her golden eyes suddenly mischievous, “I would have thought you would want to help the future Fire Lord.” 

“Izumi?” Azula’s eyes softened slightly for just a moment, but Mai knew she had seen it. “What do I get in return?”

“I can negotiate your freedom for intervals of time.” Mai said. 

Azula’s eyes slanted as she glared at her ex friend. “I know when people are lying, Mai. I am a very good liar.” She whispered the second part of the sentence quietly, staring down at the floor.

Mai sighed heavily. “I’m not lying.” 

Azula let out a gritty laugh. “As broody and blank as ever.” Azula examined her nails, her eyes flashing up to analyze her friend’s expression. Mai realized how long Azula had been away from people. She wasn’t nearly as attuned to her surroundings. 

“It would be a risk to become too emotional.” Mai stated blandly. 

Azula stiffened, looking away, her hand flexing, itching to bend Mai imagined. 

“I’ll give you time to think about it then.” Mai said rising. She bowed her head, the way she had back when they were teenagers, the way she always did to show her respects to the most talented bender Mai had ever known. To show respect to her friend. “But you should know that… Izumi loves you. I think she would make an excellent pupil.” Mai regretted the words as soon as they had left her lips but it was already too late. There they were and they were the truth.  
Azula watched her leave with an almost broken expression, not quite anger or sadness but… loss. 

“Azula,” Mai said, her back still turned, “I am so sorry.”


End file.
